Leigh Engel had the honor of working on Lingít Aaní land as a Fisheries Biologist for the Sitka Tribe of Alaska (STA) and the Southeast Alaska Tribal Ocean Research (SEATOR) network for four and a half years. Leigh taught, learned from, and worked closely with 17 tribes whose goal is to perpetuate sovereignty through science and protect and preserve subsistence resources in their communities by developing the SEATOR Shellfish Biomass Survey program. Leigh is leaving her position with STA to pursue an M.S. in Natural Resources and Environmental management at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She continues as an active member and collaborator.